The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 03, 2016
Filed:
Dec. 15, 2014
Ford Global Technologies, Llc, Dearborn, MI (US);
Stacey H. Raines, Ypsilanti, MI (US);
Sean B. West, Monroe, MI (US);
FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US);
Abstract
An active bolster mounts at an interior trim surface of a passenger compartment. A plastic-molded front wall deploys to receive an impacting passenger in the passenger compartment. A plastic-molded back wall is joined around a substantially sealed perimeter with the front wall to form an inflatable bladder, wherein the back wall includes at least one substantially circumferential pleated baffle for unfolding during inflation of the bladder to deploy the front wall. An inflator delivers an inflation gas into the inflatable bladder in response to a crash event of the vehicle. An absorber member is disposed along the front wall in the bladder prior to inflation and is configured to deploy transversely to the front wall and into fixed abutment with the back wall upon inflation of the bladder to mechanically resist post-inflation movement of the front wall toward the back wall and to dissipate energy of the impacting passenger.